How to Document Intermittent Faults in Industrial Robots? Alarm Log and On-site Data Collection Methods
Addressing occasional stoppages, restarts with recovery, and irregular alarms in industrial robots, this article introduces methods for documenting alarm logs, operating status, and external signals to help maintenance personnel narrow down the fault scope.
01. Why Intermittent Faults Are Difficult to Locate
When occasional stoppages occur in ABB, FANUC, KUKA, YASKAWA, and general industrial robots, the fault may originate from power fluctuations, poor connector contact, fatigue in the main body cables, external interlocks, or temperature changes. If the alarm is directly reset, critical on-site information is lost, preventing maintenance personnel from determining the sequence of fault occurrences.
02. What Information to Save Immediately
Operators should record the alarm code, complete text, occurrence time, robot posture, running program, axis position, and the process status at that time, and export the alarm history and diagnostic logs accessible by the controller. Do not only photograph the last alarm, as preceding warnings are often closer to the fault source. When involving control cabinet inspection, it is essential to implement stoppage, power-off, and measures to prevent accidental startup.
03. Establishing Comparable On-site Data
Check if the fault is related to a fixed shift, specific posture, continuous operating time, or a particular external device action. Synchronously record control cabinet temperature, fan status, power anomalies, network dropouts, and PLC interlock signals. If the robot alarms only in a specific area, focus on inspecting dynamic cables, plug fixation, and interference positions, avoiding blindly replacing drives or motors before detection.
04. Transitioning from Documentation to Preventive Maintenance
After repair completion, retain the fault cause, handling measures, replaced parts, and verification results to build an industrial robot repair case library. Regularly analyze repeated alarms and stoppage trends to shift robot maintenance from reactive emergency repairs to condition-based maintenance. Before restarting, also verify the safety circuit, manual operation, automatic interlocks, and continuous cycles, confirming no abnormalities before resuming production.
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